Toy torpedo boat



1961 A. GIULIANO 2,996,835

TOY TORPEDO BOAT Filed Dec. 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: AN GELO G IUL\AN 0,

H/$ A TTOENEX 1961 A. GIULIANO 2,996,835

TOY TORPEDO BOAT Filed Dec. 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: ANGELO GlULIANO ms ATTQR/VEX United States atent 2,996,835 TOY TOR-PEDO BOAT Angelo Giuliano, 754 Mace Ave., Bronx, N.Y. Filed Dec. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 860,447 2 *Claims. (CI. 46-94) The invention relates to amusement target striking devices, and relates more particularly to power propelled target striking devices.

It is among the principal objects of the invention to provide an amusement device for sighting, aiming, and propelling a torpedo, towards a target floating on the water in a tank.

With the above and other objects of the invention in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of various devices, elements and parts, as set forth in the claims hereof, one embodiment of the same being illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the specification.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be best understood from the following description of an exemplification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tank arrangement in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a large scale elevational view of the toy torpedo boat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section, of the toy torpedo boat;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary large scale sectional view sim ilar to FIG. 4, showing but a detail thereof.

In carrying the invention into effect in one of the embodiments which has been selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings and for description in this specification, and referring now particularly to FIG. 1, a target striking unit is adapted to be supported above and externally of a tank 12 that contains water. Targets such as an aircraft carrier 14 and a battleship 16 may be floating in the water of the tank 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the target striking unit 18 may be hand supported. The striking unit 10 comprises a guide means such as a guiding rod 18, to which there are attached release means such as two manual triggers 20 and 22. To the rod 18 there is connected a vessel or toy torpedo boat 24, which is movable and dirigible in the tank 12 by the rod 18. The rod 18, as best shown in FIG. 2, may be hollow. The toy torpedo boat 24, has an elongated body, which is submerged under the water.

Near the free end, there is secured to the rod 18 a sighting means such as a periscope 26 which extends above the water. The periscope 26 has a lower occular piece 28 and an upper objective 29 for optically viewing the targets 14 and 16. Since the periscope 26 is rigidly mounted on the rod -18, and therod 18 is secured to the vessel 24, the vessel 24 may be directed by the operator holding the rod 18 as he sights the target 14 or 16 through the periscope 26.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the body of the toy torpedo boat 24, defines receptacle means such as one or more receptacles or chambers such as two chambers 30 and 32 illustrated for exemplification, in each of which there is releasably stored a spring-biased projectile or torpedo 34.

For each chamber 30 and 32 there are provided manually actuatable retaining means such as a latch 36 that is oppositely movable transversely of the longitudinal extension of the torpedo boat 24. The latches 36 are biased to project normally towards the center of the ice chambers by a spring 38, and operate to retain the tor= pedo 34 in each chamber. The latches 36 are connected, through wires 42 and 44,- to the triggers 2.0 and 22, respectively. The wires 42 and 44, are threaded through the hollow interior of the rod 18.

Each torpedo 34 is biased by a spring 40. Each spring 40 urges its torpedo to exit from its chamber and,- upon release by retraction of the latch 36, propels the tor= pedo out of the chamber.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

The targets 14 and 16 are placed in the tank 12 to float in the water of the tank. A torpedo 34 is placed in each of the chambers 30 and 32 by forcing it thereinto against the power of the spring 40. During this insertion, the rear end portion of the torpedo 34, which slopes radially inwardly towards the center of the torpedo, slides along its latch 36. The latch 36, which is biased to project towards the center of the chamber by the spring 38, is pushed radially outwardly until it is pushed by its spring 38 into a notch 46 that is cut in the periphery of the torpedo 34, thereby latching the torpedo 34 releasably in its chamber.

The fire the torpedo 34, the operator (who will in most instances, be an infant) then grasps the two triggers 20 and 22, one in each hand, and at the same time looks through the occular piece 28 of the periscope 26 to sight either target 14 or 16. Since the periscope 26 and the body of the torpedo boat 24 are rigidly inter-connected, as the child rotates the periscope 26, to sight the target, he also guides the torpedo boat 24 into the direction of alignment with the target.

The two triggers are spring loaded by springs 48 and 50, respectively, to keep the torpedo release Wires 42 and 44, always under a slight tension.

When the child sees a target in the periscope 26, he may pull either one or both of the triggers.

The pulling force exerted on a trigger against the force of its spring 48 or 50, will be transmitted to the respective latch 36 by the respective wire 42 or 44, retracting the latch out of the notch 46 of the torpedo 34. Thereby, the torpedo 34 will be released to be propelled by the spring 40 out of its chamber. As the vessel 24 at this instant, owing to the preceding sighting, points towards the selected target, the torpedo 34 will be propelled towards that target.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A target striking device comprising a tank containing water, a target floating in the water of said tank reaching above and below the water level, a vessel movably disposed in said tank below the water level and including receptacle means releasably storing at least one projectile, means propelling said projectile upon release, guide means secured to said vessel and reaching above the level of the water and being manually operaable for positioning said vessel, sighting means secured to said guide means and disposed above said water level and operative for optically viewing the position of the target disposed above the water level to determine and to adjust manually the striking position of said vessel, whereby said vessel upon viewing through said sighting means may be positioned by said guide means preparatory to projectile release towards the underwater position of said target, and release means supported by said guide means and connected to said receptacle means and manually actuatable to release said projectile.

2. A toy torpedo boat, adapted to be submerged under water, comprising an elongated body defining a pair of chambers releasably storing torpedoes, a spring disposed in each chamber and operable to bias a projectile for propulsion out of said chamber, a releasable retaining device for each chamber operative against the force of said spring for retaining said torpedo in said chamber, two manual triggers each operative to release a retaining device, and a periscope connected to said body extending to a point above the water level and operative for sighting at a predetermined target for subsequently manually aligning said body on said target, whereby said projectile when released thereafter by actuation of said trigger will be propelled by said spring out of said chamber towards 4 the target, said releasable retaining device including a movable latch releasably locking each projectile, and a release wire connected to each trigger and operable to transfer the movement of said trigger to a latch to unlock the projectile.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,323,876 Lawson Dec. 2, 1919 2,299,551 McGahey Oct. 20, 1942 2,483,164 Wheeler Sept. 27, 1949 2,627,853 Koepnick Feb. 10, 1953 

